It was far from the full 40-minute effort that the coaches often seek, but the performance of the Sheridan Bruins men’s basketball team (23-10, 13-2 OCAA) was good enough in spots to pull away from Fanshawe late, securing an 81-63 victory on Saturday at Sheridan’s Davis Campus gym in Brampton.
It was the second straight win after having a nine-game win streak snapped against Algoma in overtime the weekend prior.
“We’re certainly happy to get the win, but I think we still have a long way to go in order to get where we want,” head coach Jim Flack said. “I thought both clubs had chances in the second half to make a move and we were just a little more fortunate than Fanshawe to get a few bounces here and there.”
The Bruins had a balanced attack with five players in double figures scoring. Roshean Keen led the way with 14 points and eight rebounds. Jahmal McQueen and St. Marguerite d’Youville graduate Dylan Periana had 13 points apiece. McQueen had a team-high nine rebounds and four steals while Periana had five rebounds, five steals and four assists.
Trevor Williams had 12 points and eight steals while Kadeem Hall dropped in 10 points. Brampton Centennial grad Paul Williams had seven rebounds and three blocks in less than 14 minutes.
A trip to the Sault usually has it’s obstacles, including long hours in the bus, unfamiliar gyms, and sleeping in a strange bed.
This year was no exception for the Bruins as they split a pair of games in less than 24 hours, dropping an overtime thriller to Algoma 81-78, before rebounding to beat Sault College 86-54 last weekend.
Saturday’s game was an uphill battle most of the way- the Bruins trailed by deficits ranging between 4-10 all night. In fact, they were nine points behind with three minutes to go but staged a furious rally that ended when Trevor Williams drained a long three-ball as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.
The Bruins and the Thunderbirds traded baskets throughout the extra frame until Algoma’s Samy Mohammed nailed a three with eight seconds left.
Williams tried to match his heroics with an attempt at the buzzer, but it fell short and Algoma prevailed, 81-78. McQueen led the Bruins’ scorers with 22 points. Trevor Williams had 20 points and Hall popped 10.
Sunday’s game against Sault College could have been a trap game for the double-blue, but they came out with a renewed energy, and led 40-21 by the half.
Their relentless pressure created a barrage of turnovers, and the Cougars could not solve the Sheridan defence for any meaningful stretch of time.
In the end, the Bruins won the game, 86-54. All 12 Bruins logged double-digit minutes and 11 of them scored with Trevor Williams leading the way, notching 16 points. Periana added 15. Notre Dame grad Michael Selkridge collected 11 and Keen 10.
On Saturday the Sheridan Lady Bruins fell 98-62 to Fanshawe. Syhlanda Saunders paced Sheridan with 21 points. Fatima Shakil added 20 and Haeven Durrant 15 with 11 rebounds.
The Lady Bruins defeated the Sault 69-28 behind 26 points from Durrant and 22 by Saunders. Durrant and Jade Mason had 15 rebounds each with St. Edmund Campion grad Shanice Gouldbourne collecting 11 rebounds.
Sheridan fell 60-54 at Algoma. Saunders managed 19 points while Durrant scored 17 points and hauled in 18 rebounds.
Both Bruins teams are at Niagara tomorrow (Saturday).